There’s a jukebox quality to The Solomons, a Melbourne quartet valuing specific eras of the musical past. As introduced on last year’s debut single, the band can execute ’60s rock and ’80s Britpop with the same attention to detail. Both songs from that single are included on this EP, which boasts an even broader range of touchstones.

The opening ‘Waiting For Something To Happen’ looks to the Kinks, especially in its foreboding undercurrent, although the production is fuller and noisier. Guitarist Doug Hind even flashes what sounds like a British accent in spots, while bassist Cass Allan sings lead on the following two tracks. Even buried in the mix, the sudden bite of her delivery on ‘Evening’s Empire’ is quite a contrast from that nonchalant first track. Allan’s blustering Grace Slick presence is a weirder fit on ‘Some Kind Of Aid’, an otherwise gripping anthem rumpled with trumpet and organ. And the latter’s lyrics need serious work: “I see the devil in your eyes/Which are designed to hypnotize/I don’t want you to apologise/Cause I’d do anything for your lies.”

With ‘Ways Of Escape’, the EP’s second half leaps forward two decades in its influences, balancing a spidery lead with a haze of keyboards and rhythm guitar. Hind’s listless vocals help sell a chorus about dancing all night simply because you’ve got “fuck all else to do”. The starry-eyed ‘Rise And Fall’ is a nice slice of atmospheric Britpop in line with early Stone Roses, leaving ‘Old Songs’ to close out the record with lackadaisical jangle. Like every Solomons song, it’s carefully outfitted with retro riffs.

That’s part of the problem: it’s hard to connect with songs so shrouded in nostalgia (even the packaging is built around faded polaroids). Beyond that, there’s a generic quality to the songwriting, as likeable as the end results can be. The Solomons don’t necessarily need to stick to one sound to ensure a promising future, but maybe just rediscover the soul behind what they’re trying to do.

by Doug Wallen